Taking over a school community is an exciting prospect for any new principal, but establishing one from scratch is an incredibly rare opportunity.
Bernard Ryan will head up Sydney’s newest Catholic school and is thrilled to be able to deliver a facility that meets the needs of young, working families in Sydney’s inner city.
Worth more than $22 million, St. Joseph’s at Rosebery will be a state-of-the-art primary school delivering quality Catholic education just minutes from the CBD.
“I am so honoured to be leading the establishment of a vibrant and contemporary Catholic primary school, where children will receive an exciting and excellent Catholic education.”
Sitting alongside the existing St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the school will enrol up to 420 students from kindergarten to year six and create job opportunities for 25 teachers and administration staff.
City South Parish Priest Father Paul Smithers said the new school would open up exciting opportunities for future generations in a rapidly growing area.
“Nearly 30 years ago the school at this Parish was closed as the local population dwindled, now we are in the midst of a vibrant resurgence of inner-city living as our suburb is renewed,” he said.
Mr Ryan, born and bred in the area and currently the principal at St Columba’s Catholic Primary School Leichhardt North, said the new school was responding to the unprecedented demand for education in inner Sydney and would lead by example, living out Catholic social teaching.
He said its emphasis was on community, with the new school open to the public outside of classroom hours for community services, health and wellbeing programs and community event hire.
“The parish priest Fr Paul Smithers sees us as missionaries, re-engaging with parents who may have lost contact with their faith.”
“I am so honoured to be leading the establishment of a vibrant and contemporary Catholic primary school, where children will receive an exciting and excellent Catholic education,” he said.
“This really is a rare opportunity to be given a blank canvas and start a school in a growing area which the public is crying out for.
“Rather than be an existing school that the community fits into, we will be going out into the community and asking what they want.
“The parish priest Fr Paul Smithers sees us as missionaries, re-engaging with parents who may have lost contact with their faith.
“… we are in the midst of a vibrant resurgence of inner-city living as our suburb is renewed.”
“I am very much looking forward to working with Father Paul and all in the Catholic community of City South to make St Joseph’s a place where all will come to know and love Christ through learning.”
Mr Ryan will begin his new role at the start of Term 4 2021, with enrolment details available later in the year. Construction of the new school is already underway, with the first kindergarten cohort to begin in 2023.
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